Chapter Text
At first glance, people would mistake you and Tsukishima Kei for a couple. You two were constantly arguing with one another, but secretly looked out for the other person’s wellbeing. There would be times that the bantering and the verbal fights would be a bit too much, which would make any normal person hold a grudge and end the friendship immediately. But somehow, there must have been this invisible contract or link that you and Tsukishima had established, because despite all the mean things you’ve said to the other person, everything would still be fine and dandy the next day.
If it had been anyone else in Yamaguchi’s shoes, they would have called them out as this crazy sadist/masochist duo who probably enjoyed public degradation and name calling, sarcastically thanked them for all the memories they made, and ditched them. And by memories, they would most likely consist of attempts to keep them from strangling each other and embarrassment from deeply apologizing on their behalf whenever you accidentally jabbed your ice cream on a manager’s nostril, trying to convince Tsukishima to try Chocolate Mint. The other times had been unlucky passersby. Mostly.
Tsukishima was known to be a cold asshole who would always rub others the wrong way with his high horse and sarcastic comments. Yamaguchi doesn't think of it as that bad, seeing as how he would always rescue you both from bullies. He recalled you saying that Tsukishima was “sort of like a knight in shining armor riding to save the peasants, but with a shit-eating grin, and would most likely demand that the villagers pay up for his services”, which earned a good old-fashioned eye roll from the said boy. Yamaguchi couldn’t agree more on the whole knight thing about Tsukishima.
Tsukishima wasn’t the type to be vocal about his concerns for either one of you, but he would make it up with his actions. You would often tease him about his “Tsundere” side and how he would act all shy and have googoo eyes if ever he found himself a girlfriend.
You, on the other hand, were Miss Congeniality. Your bright personality and friendly demeanor always seemed to draw people towards you. Sometimes, Yamaguchi couldn’t help but feel amazed at how you could easily befriend someone in class or make an awkward moment go away. Then again, you were this confident, smart, and pretty girl who always extended a helping hand to others and wanted to be close to everyone. But sometimes it had caused misunderstandings from boys and drama between the girls almost too many times, which caused you to be isolated and even backbited by some you had considered as close friends.
To make the long story short, the three of you started to become best friends, and the rest was history. Tsukishima’s knack for royally pissing off others happened to rub off on you as well, but Yamaguchi quite enjoys your company and has already gotten used to it. Thankfully, you had matured from your ice cream shoving days back in junior high.
“What do you mean there’s only one slice left of the strawberry shortcake?” You stare at the cashier, almost comically.
“Exactly what the guy said, dumbass. Are you deaf or something?”
“Oh no.” Yamaguchi mutters to himself. “It’s happening again.” He’s sitting down in one of the booths by the window and observing the two of you from afar. It hasn’t even been a minute and you two are already making a commotion in front of the poor cashier who’s got a nervous look on his face as he watches the scene unfold before him.
You give Tsukishima the side-eye. “Oh, well that’s not a problem. Just give me the last slice and you can order yourself something else.” You say in a matter-of-fact tone and promptly hand your cash to the guy.
He’s about to take it when Tsukishima blocks your mode of payment with his own. “Um, I don’t think so, short stuff. You basically eat anything, so just order yourself something else.”
You scoffed. “Rude. Ever heard of ladies first?”
“Hmmm,” Tsukishima feigns innocence. “I don’t see a lady here. Maybe I need to look around a bit more.” He gives you a shit-eating grin as he crouches down to your eye level.
“Waaah! You’re so mean, Tsukki!” You bawl, hitting his arm repeatedly.
Yamaguchi chuckles nervously, scratching his cheek lightly. This shit never gets old.
---
You ended up ordering a coffee for yourself, arms crossed and face sour while the barista prepared your drink. Tsukishima made sure he sat opposite to you, so you could get a perfect view of him savoring the pastry. “That would’ve been mine if you agreed to a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, you ass.” You grumbled, slumping deeper onto your seat. “He’s a tyrant, I’m telling you, Yamaguchi.”
“Now, now, (f/n).” He chuckles and pats your head in a comforting manner. You deepen your frown and sniffle dramatically.
Meanwhile, Tsukishima is cooly eating the slice of goodness and making sure you get to see every savoring bite. He tries to hide a smirk when he sees your look of wanting every time he lifts the fork up to his mouth. He feels extra mean today so he decides to rile you up a bit more. He sighs defeatedly as he raises his fork to you now. “Here, you can have a bite.”
Your eyes sparkle with joy at that and you slowly move forward, mouth watering. Maybe Tsukishima was having a change of heart一“Psyke.” He says as the piece disappears into his own mouth instead.
You narrow your eyes at him and sit back down. You mutter incoherent names at him. Tsukishima continues nibbling on his dessert without a care in the world and Yamaguchi offers you his condolences a second time. You hear your name and Yamaguchi’s being called by the barista and you get up to collect your order. Yamaguchi’s about to get up, but you kindly offer to grab his as well, to which he thanks you for. You smile and tell him it’s not a problem, and you sauntered towards the counter, making sure to step on Tsukishima’s foot in the process. He chokes on his morsel and sends a glare to the back of your head.
“Man, I’m kinda nervous about the entrance ceremony tomorrow. No doubt (f/n)’s gonna make a first good impression and make a ton of friends with her personality.” He says, looking over at her who’s already chatting to a female barista and exchanging a few laughs, talking about God knows what. “What do you think, Tsukki?”
“Whatever comes, comes.” He says nonchalantly, taking in another bite. He also glances over at your direction and you’re now walking back with a tray in hand. You catch him staring at you and you stick your tongue out at him. “I really don’t care about the whole friend-making bit. As long as I don’t meet any loud or annoying people. They’re a pain in the ass to deal with.”
You pass Yamaguchi his drink and take your seat. “What’re you guys talking about?” You ask as you open your coffee cup.
“How you’re a pain in the ass to deal with.”
You mockingly repeated Tsukishima’s statement and rolled your eyes out at him. Tsukishima gestures his hand to you, as if to say ‘You see what I mean?’ Yamaguchi chuckles as he stirs his drink. “We were talking about tomorrow's entrance ceremony.”
“Ah right, it’s tomorrow.” You say as you place a hand over your cup and play around with the rising steam. Feeling your fingers getting a bit scorched, you stopped and leaned a cheek on your palm, your bright (e/c) hues mesmerized by the dancing mist. You pause for a bit and say, “I heard their men’s volleyball team went to Nationals once.” You glanced up at tsukishima who’s finished the cake by now and is taking a sip of water.
Yamaguchi nodded. “Mm. We’re planning on joining the club. Right, Tsukki?”
“Stop calling me that, Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima sighs.
“Sorry, Tsukki. Anyway, are you joining a club too, (f/n)?”
“Hmm,” You take a long sip and swallow the now cooled drink. “I don’t know. I'm sorta leaning a bit towards dance or gymnastics.”
“You’re more suited for the drama club, to be honest.”
You give Tsukishima an unamused eyebrow raise and flick the bird. “I hope I don’t end up in the same section as this child. I very much prefer Yamaguchi’s company more.” You cling onto the said boy’s arm and stick your tongue out at the other.
Tsukishima deadpans. “You say that, yet you act like one.” Yamaguchi snickers and you give an exasperated scoff, hand over your heart. “You’re so heartless, you two.”
The three of you continue your chit-chat, enjoying the soft instrumental playing over in the speakers and drinking in the cafe’s ambience. A few friendly fires and snickers slip out from your table. You were guffawing as Tsukishima was recalling a memory about how a certain dark-haired boy had overslept on the day of their entrance ceremony in their previous school, causing Yamaguchi to get flustered and defend himself.
After your drinks were finished, you all decided to head over to Yamaguchi’s place for one last proper hangout since there was a possibility that everyone might be too busy with their own personal stuff once school started. The three of you were walking towards Yamaguchi’s neighborhood. Tsukishima had his headphones on, tuning out your loud laughter and random cooing at every dog that seemed to pass you by, while Yamaguchi was making sure you didn’t end up with rabies before you got to his house.
He watched from a distance what he assumed was an attempt of conversation with Tsukishima. You were ignoring the fact that headphones on meant he didn’t want to be disturbed, and his initial response was increasing the volume of his music. You continued to pester him and decided that you weren’t having any more of it, so you placed the cold water bottle you had purchased earlier to his neck, which caused him to flinch and swear at you. You laughed at his reaction, and Yamaguchi swears he sees irk marks appear on the boy’s forehead. Tsukishima concluded that the only way to avoid you was to take longer strides and quicken his pace before you could do anything dangerously annoying. It proved a difficult feat for you, and so you ended up jogging to catch up to him, followed by unladylike words being thrown at him.
Yamaguchi chuckles at the sight before him. At first glance, people would think you guys were a couple with the teasing and playful banter towards the other, only to be surprised that that wasn’t the case. There’s no doubt their new classmates and friends wouldn’t react the same way and Yamaguchi is sure questions will rise. But if anyone were to ask Yamaguchi, he’d simply describe you two as “friends in denial of their feelings”.